Bigs and Littles

College Majors Musical Theater Majors
1

Something to take your minds off applications, acceptances, prescreens, deferrals, and redirections…

Many of the programs have a type of mentoring thing, where the older students are assigned an incoming freshman to take under their wings. My D is currently a junior, and I realized that the kids who are auditioning now will be incoming freshmen when she is a senior next year - so one of them could be her Little! Each school does it differently, but I thought it might be fun to lay it out for you.

At Ithaca, each freshman MT or Acting major is given a senior MT or Acting major. (As I’ve explained before on other threads, Acting and MT are very, very close at Ithaca and take all the same classes the first 2 years.) The senior (the “Big”) is basically responsible for the freshman’s (the “Little”) well-being the entire first year. They take them to parties, introduce them around, drive them to CVS, the grocery store, the movies, etc. They are a shoulder to cry on, someone to celebrate with, and someone they can trust and ask lots of questions. At the end of the freshman year, the freshman put on a big show for their Bigs to thank them and to wish them well as they enter the real world. Ithaca tries to match upthe Bigs and Littles by personality. It is so exciting for the Bigs to choose their Littles…and they are starting to get excited!

The relationship between the Bigs and Littles lasts well beyond that first year. The Bigs come back and see their Littles perform in shows…the Littles go down to NYC and see their Bigs perform. My D’s Big was a girl she worshipped from afar at summer camp (Stagedoor) but never hung out with. They are now the best of friends, and when my D was going through a tough time her junior year, her Big drove up from NYC to stay with her and help her through it. It is so wonderful to see these kids support each other around the country beyond graduation…this past Thanksgiving, a sophomore boy missed his connecting flight home in Chicago, and he stayed with his Big from the year before…it creates a network of contacts and friends around the country. And, since most of the seniors live off campus in houses, the Littles get to know the other Seniors who live in that house…it’s like a big happy family.

So…just something to think about, and something to put your mind at ease when thinking about your freshman at a school where they know no one. As I said, each school does it differently (and hopefully other people will chime in here as to how their school does it), but many of them have this type of system.

2

Western Michigan has a similar program, called “Theatre Buddies.” My d loves her theatre buddy, they go on walks around campus, go shopping together, have breakfast together, help each other prep for auditions, watch their favorite movies together, you name it. The first week on campus her buddy went with her to the several official and unofficial Theatre Department welcome parties and events. Her buddy made her transition to college go really smoothly. No doubt they are bff’s. They are currently planning to drive to summer stock auditions together.

She is really looking forward to being a “buddy” next year, but so many upperclassmen volunteer that it can be tough to get assigned. D has had more than one junior come up to her and say, “Gee, I really wanted you as my theatre buddy.” I think most of them are Juniors, because many of the Seniors graduate in December and already have one foot “out the door” and into professional theatre. D already has a list of all things that she plans to do with her Freshman buddy, if she gets one next year…

WMU has a really welcoming and supportive atmosphere throughout the theatre department. D has had no problem getting to know the upperclassmen and they have routinely complemented her after auditions, recitals, directing scenework projects, etc. (at WMU it seems like everyone is always auditioning and performing in something every week).

3

Same at Pace and Rider. At Pace, it’s organized via the MT department. At Rider, it’s organized via the Alpha Psi Omega theatre fraternity. Both schools have lovely traditions between the bigs and the littles. Great way for the new students to meet people and feel like part of a family. :slight_smile:

4

My D’s BFA program (NYU/Tisch) didn’t have this kind of thing (but it sounds like a great idea in a BFA program). However, my non-MT D did have something like this at Brown University, though the “big” person was assigned more than one “little” (they weren’t called that). They are something called Mikkeljohns. Freshman year, my D’s Mikkeljohn was a senior Theater major, it so happens (and that D of mine grew up doing theater but didn’t major in it in college). That D also was selected to be a Mikkeljohn in her senior year. Anyway, fast forward a few years, and my MT D who is working in MT in NYC, has worked professionally and is friendly with the young woman who had been older D’s Mikkeljohn at Brown (but not because of that connection at all). It’s a small world.

5

We have bigs and littles at Viterbo, as well! At Viterbo, as a freshman, you get a “medium” and a “big”–a sophomore mentor and a junior/senior mentor. This works out really well, because freshmen and sophomores take MUTH Lab together in fall semester, so you always have someone in class looking out for you, as well as a way to get to know upperclassmen. I’m living with juniors this year (as a transfer student, those are where most of my closest friends in the department are), and one of my roommates and I have the same little! I’m the “medium” and my roommate is the “big”. The faculty assigns you your little–so this year, my little is another transfer student, because they felt she could learn from the experiences that I had last year transferring into the department. People get new littles every year, so it’s a good way to spread the love throughout the department. Even though I hang out with my big from freshman year less lately, he’s always offering to do things for me–take me grocery shopping, drive me places, tutor me in makeup class…it’s a great way to feel like you always have a friend, which is especially important in the BIG transition to college.

6

They do now. Not sure how seriously it is taken but it exists.

7

Maybe it varies by studio. Adler does it - it’s a sophomore and freshman. Kind of nice, b/c you are closer in age, experience etc.

8

We do something similar to this at James Madison University… they call it Top Dog/ Under Dog (name inspired by the play). All the new students are assigned a senior or a junior as a “top dog.” . This seems to extend for many well beyond the first year, and “families” are formed with alums who are out working and were the “top dogs” to the to the current “top dogs” sometimes referring to the new “under dogs” as “granddogs.” :slight_smile:

9

Texas State does this too. But each freshman has two bigs in different class levels. They are assigned by the MT department at the beginning of the year. It’s a great idea for these programs.

10

Shenandoah and Point Park do this. The D’s big was so helpful to her this semester and they are strongly bonded. Unfortunately, her big graduated this semester and will be heading west this weekend. The D is bummed. :frowning:

11

Ball State University has a mentor/mentee program like this as well! Each incoming freshman musical theatre and acting major is matched with an upperclassman from the same major before they arrive on campus for their first semester. Their mentor usually helps them get acclimated to campus, find classrooms, explain to them the ins and outs of the program, and hopefully overall ease any nerves they may have about beginning their first semester of college! It’s been a wonderfully successful program for helping out the incoming freshman and allowing them to feel comfortable to ask any questions!

12

CCPA/Roosevelt also does this.

13

Montclair too, though the sophomores are the Bigs to their freshmen Littles. Thus a lineage: when my daughter was a freshman she had a sophomore Big, a junior Grand-Big, and a senior Great-Grand-Big. This year (she’s a junior) she has a Big, a Little, and a Grand-Little. This seems to be done by the kids and they have fun picking their Littles; in my daughter’s case everyone in her lineage is blonde. Not sure how seriously they take it either because really, everyone in the program is friends and they all seem quite supportive of each other. Her Little is the daughter of someone I met here on CC!

14

OCU also does this in several different ways. The Theatre school has bigs and littles. Some of the voice studios do as well. And there are numerous campus organizations that also have bigs/littles. It is very nice to have an older student looking out for you as you begin college. The friendships formed really help get students through their entire college career. And those relationships do continue even after graduation. I’m glad to hear so many schools providing similar support for their students. And definitely a good question to ask when visiting campuses.

15

Western Kentucky does this also. The bigs are seniors, who generally live off campus, and have the littles (freshman) over for dinner and parties. They generally mentor them showing them the ropes within the department. My daughter is a sophomore this year and joined a sorority so she has a big from the sorority this year also.

16

BW too… At the first majors meeting their freshman year they pull their “seniors” out of a hat! My D’s senior was great, both with moral support and practical support. He’s now on tour, and she’s hooking her sister up to meet him this spring after she is seeing the tour with friends while she is on vacation! Unfortunately the tour hasn’t come anywhere near where my D is, and so she hasn’t been able to see him.

17

I’ll add to the list…BoCo does big/littles as well.

18

Hartt does as well. It is arranged by the seniors and they sent out a brief Q and A survey over the summer to try to match you up with someone with similar personalities/interests. The incoming freshman class was larger than the senior class this year so they actually have a pair of seniors matched up with 3 freshman, so my D has a “Mom” and “Dad”. It has been a great support system to have in place for all kinds of questions that come up.

19

Wright State has this also - they call it Mentors and Mentees.

20

Coastal began this program this year.